Taking off my playwright’s hat

It’s been four years since I last directed a stage production, not counting working with students. While I received excellent reviews back in 2008, the experience itself was questionable. Since then, I have been fortunate to participate in the process of several staged readings of my works and I am eternally grateful to the directors, Tam Warner and Cyndy Marion, for those wonderful experiences.

My 10-minute play, “A Waffle Doesn’t Cure Insomnia”, was selected for a staged reading by the OCPA Discoveries series and will be presented at the Empire Theatre, the home of Theatre Out, on December 1, 2012 at 3:30 pm. And I am directing. And the process has been fabulous. Although I will admit to some insecurities, apparently, I haven’t driven my actors crazy, but inspired them.

Occurs to me, it’s all about expectations. Having none, other than showing up ready to work, is a healthy way to start. Over the last four years it seems I’ve learned to put aside the play in my head and respect the actors’ instruments in front of me and adapt my expectations to their physicality and musicality. I say I would never direct a production, but who knows, you know?